Warwickshire Police ranked lowest on crime scene attendance

The report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) showed the force attended 39 per cent of crime scenes.

The national average for the 24 forces who provided data was just under 80 per cent.

HMIC said nationally criminal damage and car crime were “on the verge of being decriminalised” because forces had “almost given up”.

In some cases it stated victims were asked to check for CCTV or fingerprints.

Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Ron Ball, said: “Every crime and incident reported to the force is investigated, either by an officer on the scene or by a crime bureau.

“Under no circumstances are victims of crime expected to carry out their own investigations.

“Assessing the threat, risk and harm to a victim of crime is of paramount importance to us, and will always be done first.

“This is why a police officer will always be dispatched when the crime involves sexual offences, domestic abuse and anti-social behaviour.

“We are committed to protecting the public from criminal activity, and ensuring that they have every confidence that the police will take appropriate action should they become a victim of crime.”

Mr Ball added: “Whilst there is evidence of good work undertaken by the force, I fully recognise that there are some areas that require further work, and as Police Commissioner I will take this forward.”

DCC Lewis Benjamin, of Warwickshire Police, said: “Our main purpose at Warwickshire Police is to protect people from harm and we tailor our approaches to the needs of the communities we serve.

“We balance the resources we have against the levels of threat, harm and risk to vulnerable people, and provide proportionate responses to address the different crime areas.

“When we ask our communities, our confidence and satisfaction rates are very high and in Warwickshire, crime and therefore the number of victims of crime, is reducing year on year.”